Need Your Help with IL Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act

I have a deep interest in the well-being of Illinois School for the Deaf and Illinois School for the Visually Impaired.

My deaf daughter works at the Illinois School for the Deaf, my deaf son-in-law worked there, and my deaf grandson and granddaughter attended until high school.

I am concerned about the Public Act 097-0625 that needs to be amended with the underlined phrases/words, they seem to help to make the act more workable.

Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act

(20 ILCS 2405/10) (from Ch. 23, par. 3441)

Sec. 10. Residential schools; visual and hearing handicaps.
(a) The Department of Human Services shall operate residential schools for the education of children with visual and hearing handicaps who are unable to take advantage of the regular educational facilities provided in the community, and shall provide in connection therewith such academic, vocational, and related services as may be required. Children shall be eligible for admission to these schools only after proper diagnosis and evaluation, in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Department.

(a-5) The Superintendent of the Illinois School for the Deaf shall be the chief executive officer of, and shall be responsible for the day to day operations of, the School, and shall obtain educational and professional employees who are either certified by the Illinois State Board of Education or certified/licensed by Department/Board of Education from another state and professional employees who are licensed by the appropriate agency or entity to which licensing authority has been delegated, as well as all other employees of the School, subject to the provisions of the Personnel Code and any applicable collective bargaining agreement. The Superintendent shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. In the case of a vacancy in the office of Superintendent during the recess of the Senate, the Governor shall make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the Senate, when the Governor shall nominate some person to fill the office, and any person so nominated who is confirmed by the Senate shall hold office during the remainder of the term and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. The Superintendent shall hold office (i) for a term expiring on June 30 of 2015, and every 4 years thereafter and (ii) until the Superintendent's successor is appointed and qualified. The Superintendent shall devote his or her full time to the duties of the office, shall not serve in any other capacity during his or her term of office, and shall receive such compensation as the Governor shall determine. The Superintendent shall have an administrative certificate with a superintendent endorsement as provided for under Section 21-7.1 of the School Code, or shall have Superintendent/Administrator licensure/certification from another state. and The Superintendent shall also have degrees in both educational administration and deaf education, together with at least 15 years of experience in either deaf education, the administration of deaf education, or a combination of the 2.
(a-10) The Superintendent of the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired shall be the chief executive officer of, and shall be responsible for the day to day operations of, the School, and shall obtain educational and professional employees who are either certified by the Illinois State Board of Education or certified/licensed by Department/Board of Education from another state and professional employees who are licensed by the appropriate agency or entity to which licensing authority has been delegated, as well as all other employees of the School, subject to the provisions of the Personnel Code and any applicable collective bargaining agreement. The Superintendent shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. In the case of a vacancy in the office of Superintendent during the recess of the Senate, the Governor shall make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the Senate, when the Governor shall nominate some person to fill the office, and any person so nominated who is confirmed by the Senate shall hold office during the remainder of the term and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. The Superintendent shall hold office (i) for a term expiring on June 30 of 2015, and every 4 years thereafter and (ii) until the Superintendent's successor is appointed and qualified. The Superintendent shall devote his or her full time to the duties of the office, shall not serve in any other capacity during his or her term of office, and shall receive such compensation as the Governor shall determine. The Superintendent shall have an administrative certificate with a superintendent endorsement as provided for under Section 21-7.1 of the School Code, or shall have Superintendent/Administrator licensure/certification from another state. and The Superintendent shall also have degrees in both educational administration and blind or visually impaired education, together with at least 15 years of experience in either blind or visually impaired education, the administration of blind or visually impaired education, or a combination of the 2.

(20 ILCS 2405/13) (from Ch. 23, par. 3444)
Sec. 13. The Department shall have all powers reasonable and necessary for the administration of institutions for persons with one or more disabilities under subsection (f) of Section 3 of this Act, including, but not limited to, the authority to do the following:
(a) Appoint and remove the superintendents of the institutions operated by the Department, except for those superintendents whose appointment and removal is provided for under Section 10 of this Act; obtain all other employees subject to the provisions of the Personnel Code, except for educational and professional employees of the Illinois School for the Deaf and the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired who are either certified by the Illinois State Board of Education or certified/licensed by Department/Board of Education from another state and professional employees who are licensed by the appropriate agency or entity to which licensing authority has been delegated, and all other employees of the School who are obtained by the superintendents as provided under Section 10 of this Act, subject to the provisions of the Personnel Code and any applicable collective bargaining agreement; and conduct staff training programs for the development and improvement of services.


Personnel Code

(20 ILCS 415/4d) (from Ch. 127, par. 63b104d)
Sec. 4d. Partial exemptions. The following positions in State service are exempt from jurisdictions A, B, and C to the extent stated for each, unless those jurisdictions are extended as provided in this Act:
(1) In each department, board or commission that now maintains or may hereafter maintain a major administrative division, service or office in both Sangamon County and Cook County, 2 private secretaries for the director or chairman thereof, one located in the Cook County office and the other located in the Sangamon County office, shall be exempt from jurisdiction B; in all other departments, boards and commissions one private secretary for the director, chairman, or in the Illinois School for the Deaf and the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired one private secretary for the Superintendent thereof shall be exempt from jurisdiction B. In all departments, boards and commissions one confidential assistant for the director or chairman thereof shall be exempt from jurisdiction B. This paragraph is subject to such modifications or waiver of the exemptions as may be necessary to assure the continuity of federal contributions in those agencies supported in whole or in part by federal funds.
(2) The resident administrative head of each State charitable, penal and correctional institution, the chaplains thereof, and all member, patient and inmate employees are exempt from jurisdiction B.
(3) The Civil Service Commission, upon written recommendation of the Director of Central Management Services, shall exempt from jurisdiction B other positions which, in the judgment of the Commission, involve either principal administrative responsibility for the determination of policy or principal administrative responsibility for the way in which policies are carried out, except positions in agencies which receive federal funds if such exemption is inconsistent with federal requirements, and except positions in agencies supported in whole by federal funds.
(4) All beauticians and teachers of beauty culture and teachers of barbering, and all positions heretofore paid under Section 1.22 of "An Act to standardize position titles and salary rates", approved June 30, 1943, as amended, shall be exempt from jurisdiction B.
(5) Licensed attorneys in positions as legal or technical advisors, positions in the Department of Natural Resources requiring incumbents to be either a registered professional engineer or to hold a bachelor's degree in engineering from a recognized college or university, licensed physicians in positions of medical administrator or physician or physician specialist (including psychiatrists), and registered nurses (except those registered nurses employed by the Department of Public Health), except those in positions in agencies which receive federal funds if such exemption is inconsistent with federal requirements and except those in positions in agencies supported in whole by federal funds, and professional educator positions in the Illinois School for the Deaf and Illinois School for the Visual Impaired requiring licensure by the State Board of Education or Department/Board of Education from other state, and noneducator positions in the Illinois School for the Deaf requiring education, knowledge, experience, skill and background related to deafness and sign language and noneducator postions in the Illinois School for the Visual Impaired requiring education, knowledge, experience. skill and background related to visual impairments are exempt from jurisdiction B only to the extent that the requirements of Section 8b.1, 8b.3 and 8b.5 of this Code need not be met.
(6) All positions established outside the geographical limits of the State of Illinois to which appointments of other than Illinois citizens may be made are exempt from jurisdiction B.

If you live in IL, please consider the proposed amendments to PA 097-0625 and ask your IL Legislatures to give an AYE vote on them.

Go to website: www.ilga.gov:

1. Click "senate members" or "house members" then look for your district number
2. click on the blue hyperlink to find out your senator and/or representative's address, phone number, etc.

Just go from there and all the help we need from you will be very helpful.  Be sure to contact your senator or representative ASAP for the sake of the future of Illinois School for the Deaf and Illinois School for the Visually Impaired!

Draft a letter and send it or you can call them and tell them your concerns that the act needs to be amended and a "yes" vote is needed to do that!

We just need your support and help .... anything to help to get this revised (amended) act passed.

The Veto Session enters its second week December 2nd and concludes on December 4th.

The last session known as the lame duck session before the change of Governors on January 12 is early January.










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